U.S. Housing Starts Dip in March

The seasonally adjusted annual rate for privately owned housing starts dropped sharply in March, falling 17.6 percent from February to 1.84 million units, according to a report released by the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development. Single-family housing starts declined 14.4 percent to a rate of 1.54 million units, while starts for buildings with five or more units reached 258,000. The number of building permits issued, which can be an indicator of future building activity, decreased 4.0 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 2.02 million permits.
All four U.S. regions posted decreases in the number of new privately owned housing units started in March when compared with the previous month. In the Midwest, housing starts fell 29.3 percent, followed by an 18 percent decrease in the South. In the West and Northeast, housing starts dropped 12.7 percent and 3.6 percent, respectively.
Full Article: New Residential Construction in March 2005